ATLANTA, Aug. 3, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- More than 500 people welcomed Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA) to the Southeast during a groundbreaking ceremony today in Newnan, Ga. Lt. Governor Casey Cagle, Senate President Pro Tempore Tommie Williams and a delegation of public officials, community and business leaders joined more than 160 cancer patients, survivors and caregivers for the celebration.
CTCA officially broke ground on a 212,000-square-foot, all-digital facility in Newnan, Ga. – the first CTCA hospital in the Southeast. It will open in September 2012 and join CTCA regional destination hospitals in Chicago, Philadelphia, Phoenix and Tulsa.
The Georgia hospital will provide the latest treatment and technology in the fight against cancer for adult patients. CTCA specializes in advanced-stage and complex cancer.
"This will be a blessing for patients like me who travel across the country to get top-notch care," said Tanya Gruce, a breast cancer patient from Seminole, Fla. Gruce, diagnosed in 2007 at just 31 years of age, receives treatment at CTCA in Philadelphia.
"When you are fighting for your life, you want state-of-the-art treatment closer to home," Gruce said. "CTCA's patient-centered approach is so much different than anywhere else. They give patients the information we need to make treatment decisions. They bring hope."
Cancer patients and their families travel hundreds of miles one way to receive the unique CTCA treatment model known as Patient Empowered Care.The model combines state-of-the-art clinical treatments and technology with an array of complementary therapies – such as nutrition therapy, naturopathic medicine, pain management, oncology rehabilitation, mind-medicine and spiritual support – that help manage side effects and improve quality of life. CTCA also encourages and empowers patients to take an active role in treatment decision-making.
The Atlanta-area hospital will have 50 beds, along with ICU rooms, an outpatient clinic, radiation department and other accommodations for patients and their families. More than two-thirds of its cancer patients are expected to arrive for treatment from outside of Georgia, making it a destination hospital and creating medical tourism for the area.
Recognized as one of the "State of Georgia's Top 10 Economic Development Projects" by former Governor Perdue, the new hospital will generate about 500 new jobs in the Newnan-Coweta County area.
"We are partnering with the City of Newnan, Coweta County and the State of Georgia to make this hospital a gateway to better serve cancer patients throughout the Southeast – and serve the community," said Kane Dawson, president and CEO of CTCA in Newnan. "The economic impact is expected to top $500 million in our first five years of operation."
A series of town hall sessions launched today's groundbreaking festivities, discussing CTCA from a clinical, patient experience, and economic and community partnership perspective.
"Today marks a significant step in fighting cancer in the Southeast and giving patients and their families the access to high-quality care they deserve," Dawson said. "We look forward to opening the doors of this hospital and bringing our unique model of care closer to the patients and family we serve."
